The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed “in principle“ issue Turkey a stand-by credit loan in support of the country’s three-year economic reform program. "The new arrangement will support a medium-term economic stabilization and reform program, designed to protect the Turkish economy against future crises and address impediments to rapid sustainable growth," said an IMF statement. "The arrangement will also provide a framework for policies and international financing to close Turkey's financing gap projected at $10 billion through end-2002."
The Turkish parliament approved last week a tight national budget for the year 2002, in line with the country’s reform pledges to the IMF. Nearly half of the budget’s $67-billion expenditures, will be directed for interest payments.
The international rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) recently raised its outlook on the Republic of Turkey to stable from negative and affirmed the country's credit ratings. Turkey's main credit rating was kept at single-B-minus, the rating that was given when the agency lowered its outlook in April for the country. — (menareport.com)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
